fealdade

Fealdade is a noun in Portuguese (also found in Galician) that denotes ugliness or deformity, referring to the quality of being unattractive or repulsive to the eye. The term can apply to physical appearance, to the form of objects, or to works of design and nature, and it may be used metaphorically to describe the ugliness of ideas, behavior, or social structures.

Etymology and usage: Fealdade is formed from the adjective feio (ugly) with the suffix -dade, creating an abstract noun that expresses the state or quality of being ugly. The concept is closely related to feiúra, another common word for ugliness; however, fealdade is often seen as more formal or literary, while feiúra is more everyday.

Cultural and theoretical aspects: As with beauty, judgments of fealdade are historically and culturally contingent. What counts as ugly can vary across periods, genres, and personal sensibilities, and the term can carry evaluative or rhetorical weight in critiques of art, architecture, and moral discourse. In some contexts, fealdade can evoke grotesque or discordant aesthetics rather than mere lack of beauty.

In sum, fealdade designates ugliness or deformity as a quality, understood within the cultural and linguistic frame of Portuguese-speaking communities, and it functions across literal, metaphorical, and critical uses.